Braves' Nacho Alvarez Suffers Another Setback: Report

Alvarez is the No. 3 Braves prospect according to MLB.com. He is the only position player ranked in the top five prospects for the organization.

Catcher Drake Baldwin was also in the top five Braves prospects with Alvarez, but Baldwin fell off the list because of his MLB service time. Only pitchers Cam Caminiti and Hurston Waldrep are ranked ahead of Alvarez.

The infielder debuted with the Braves last season on July 22. He spent eight days with the team, playing in eight contests. The infielder significantly struggled, batting 3-for-30 (.100) with two hit batsmen in 32 plate appearances. He also struck out 10 times.

The Braves sent Alvarez back to Triple-A at the end of July 2024. He hasn't been back to the MLB since then.

But he appeared to be trending in that direction before Bowman's report Thursday. Alvarez was batting .379 with a 1.113 OPS in nine games at Triple-A Gwinnett before June 26.

In 73 career Triple-A games, Alvarez has hit .305 with an .891 OPS, 11 home runs, 46 RBI and 55 runs in 330 plate appearances.

By the time the infielder works back from an oblique injury, though, it's possible there might not be much of a minor league season left. While it's early to speculate, it typically takes several weeks to recover from a serious oblique injury.

Alvarez has already sat out two months to begin this season. Alvarez opened the campaign on the injured list because of left wrist inflammation.